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Holiday Memories

As we all know, holidays are days set aside for religious, business, culture and education, are celebrated and intended to allow individuals to commemorate events or traditions.

Besides the increasing interest of making Election Day a Federal Holiday, there are so many special days during this Holiday Season that we decided to lmention some of them. From November to January we are chock full of holidays. The following is a partial list and we welcome any and all suggestions for additions.

11/20 Universal Children's Day was established in 1954, is celebrated on November 20 each year to promote international togetherness and awareness among children worldwide. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, promotes and coordinates this special day, which also works towards improving children's welfare.

11/22 Thanksgiving Day - Fourth Thursday From Thanksgiving to New Years’ Day, there are a lot of holidays squeezed into a little more than a month’s time, giving rise to a season that exuberates joy to the world, family gatherings, folks coming together, with peace, love, happiness and giving back.

While it’s a given that the holidays falling between November and January should be celebrated, how many people actually know the history behind one of the most joyous seasons?

11/23 Black Friday - a day after Thanksgiving is an informal name for the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, the fourth Thursday of November, which has been regarded as the beginning of our American nation's Christmas shopping season since 1952, although the term "Black Friday" did not become widely used until the early 2000s

12/2 Advent is a religious tradition observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas as well as the return of Jesus at the second coming. The term is a version of the Latin word meaning coming.

12/3 Chanukah lasts 8 days of the Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. 12/2-thru-12/10

12/7 Pearl Harbor Day is a solemn holiday commemorating the attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack, also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor, led to the United States' entry into World War II.

12/12 Virgin of Guadalupe Day According to Roman Catholic religion Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe, is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a venerated image enshrined within the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. 12/12, 1531

12/21 Winter Solstice -The shortest day of the year is also known as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. It occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere.

12/23 Festivus - for the rest of us this holiday is celebrated as an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas holiday season. Celebrations Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength, Festivus dinner, Festivus miracles, and the symbolic aluminum pole.

12/24 Noche Buena is what we always called it as I was growing up in Cuba. Christmas Eve and that entire day before Christmas Day was a festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day.

12/25 Christmas is a special day in many ways. This annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people all over this wonderful world.

12/26 Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated on the day after Christmas Day. It originated in the United Kingdom, and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire

12/26 Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa commemorates African heritage in African-American culture. Karenga says he created the holiday to give African-Americans an opportunity to celebrate their heritage. The term Kwanzaa and its associated terms are derived Swahili and seek to build on the concept of unity and heritage in families.

12/27 National Fruitcake Day is believed to have started Rome. One of the earliest recipes known comes with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. Records indicate that in the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added. Recipes for fruitcake vary from country to country depending on available ingredients and tradition.

12/31 New Year's Eve The celebration of New Year’s Eve and Day dates back to ancient Babylon in which a feast and festival were implemented to revel in a new year. The practice of celebrating a new year stayed throughout the years with the Egyptians and Romans as well. Each country around the world celebrates it differently, but they can all trace the origins back to the original party thrown by the Babylonians.

1/1 NEW YEARS DAY Rest, relax and prepare for 2019 The celebration of New Year’s Eve and Day date back more than 4,000 years ago

And with these many holidays, come the practice of gift giving. Please, shop local and support your neighborhood merchants.